NCAAB Live News sorted by date

SI.com: Power Rankings: Michigan Sets the Pace of a Banner Week for the Big Ten

College basketball got an early taste of chaos this past week, and that's before a Thanksgiving week slate that feels bound to go off the rails. The defending champs lost twice--at home; Iowa, not Syracuse or Oregon, won the 2K Classic and Virginia Tech and Purdue played a Sunday night tilt in Charleston that felt like it could've taken place in March. While most of the top 10 took care of business, the back half of the rankings experienced a significant shuffle, and five teams dropped out entirely.

Our Week 2 power rankings are below, but first, some notable performances--for better or for worse--from last week's top 25.

Thanksgiving week typically brings us the best tournaments, other than the tournament, of the college basketball season. It all starts this Monday, with the beginning of the Maui Invitational, and goes through next weekend, when the AdvoCare Invitational crowns its champion. All told, the five best Thanksgiving week tournaments will give us 44 games featuring 14 ranked teams, including eight inside the top 10.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- When Gonzaga star Rui Hachimura caught teammate Killian Tillie singing like the viral "yodeling kid" while staring in the mirror at their off-campus apartment last summer, he reacted like any college kid would.

"He was practicing by himself," said Hachimura, a projected lottery pick and preseason All-American from Japan who averaged 25.0 points through Gonzaga's first two games. "I was like, 'What the f---?'"

The promising, 6-foot-8 combo forward communicates like a seasoned American, sprinkling cliches, song lyrics and some occasional profanity into conversations. He's never cautious.

During his first year on Gonzaga's campus, however, Hachimura only understood Japanese, which interrupted everything he attempted to do on the court, in his social life and during his studies.

SI.com: In Front of a Thunderous MSG Crowd, UConn Proves Just How Much Difference a Year Can Make

New York, NY -- Moments after the final buzzer had sounded on a statement UConn victory, Dan Hurley and his players let their emotions loose as they walked off the Madison Square Garden floor. In front of a frenzied pack of Huskies fans, sophomore Tyler Polley grabbed the front of his jersey with both hands and puffed out the UCONN on his chest. Senior Jalen Adams, the longest-tenured member of the team, gave a visceral yell of joy as he passed the jubilant crowd. Hurley, the coach that those fans hope can return this program to its position amongst the college basketball elite, indulged in a celebratory scream of his own as he jogged to the tunnel.

SI.com: Cal Basketball Game Canceled Due to Unhealthy Air Quality Levels From Ongoing California Wildfire

The ongoing wildfires in California have spread into the Berkeley area, causing Cal's men's basketball team to cancel Thursday night's game against Detroit Mercy. The fires have caused unhealthy air quality levels across the region and in Haas Pavilion, where a "significant amount of smoke" has infiltrated the arena, the team announced.

"This was the best situation for all the student-athletes, coaches and fans," Detroit Mercy's men's basketball team wrote on Twitter. "We are praying for all of those truly affected by the wildfires and air quality."

No decision has yet been made regarding Cal's football game against rival Stanford on Saturday.

It's not often a new head coach at a power conference school walks into an ideal situation. Barring an upward move to a better school or the NBA, there are usually either NCAA issues, recruiting issues or multiple years of subpar performances. Sometimes, all three. Nearly all the time, however, it's uphill battle for a new coach.

Except, well, last season.

We consistently saw successful transitions at power conference programs during the 2017-18 campaign.

Chris Holtmann took over for Thad Matta at Ohio State after Matta was ousted in early June, and Holtmann subsequently led the Buckeyes to a 25-9 record and a 5-seed in the NCAA tournament.

In the fall of 1991, Michigan's freshman class included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. Michigan went on to reach the national championship in 1992 but lost to Duke. The Wolverines returned to the title game in 1993 only to be defeated by North Carolina.

Zion Williamson continues to prove difficult for opponents to slow down. Duke's freshman phenom put on yet another awe-inspiring performance during the first half of Wednesday's contest against Eastern Michigan.

Williamson took off for several dunks, setting Cameron Indoor into a ruckus.

Prior to that, he also took off for this terrific one-hander...

He also scored this one-hander in transition...

Not to mention this two-handed jam for his first basket of the game...

Stayed tuned as Williamson builds his case for becoming the first college basketball player to compete in the NBA Dunk Contest.

SI.com: College Basketball Daily Best Bets: Take Villanova in National Championship Rematch

Wednesday's slate is enticing, with a national championship rematch, eight top-25 teams and a wealth of mid-major competition to pick from. It would be impossible to stay away from Villanova vs. Michigan, but the two other plays from the day come from the same game, a mid-major battle between Toledo and Wright State.

Recap of yesterday bets:

1. Wisconsin started very strong, getting out to a 10-2 lead, but let Xavier chip away and took only a two-point lead into the half. The Badgers came out of the half energized and quickly got out to a 15-point lead 10 minutes in and was able to stifle all of Xavier's runs.

SI.com: The Best Modern Football Teams to Come out of College Basketball Powerhouses

They've been to 23 combined Final Fours, including seven in the past 15 seasons. The last time they both missed the same NCAA tournament was back in 1967, and they enter the new year in the top six for all-time wins among Division I college basketball programs. Yet on the football field, they're an afterthought--at least, they usually are.

Kentucky and Syracuse are no strangers to success on the hardwood, and their fans are no strangers to spending each fall eagerly anticipating another season of hoops. But this year, you'll have to forgive Wildcats and Orange fans if they've been a bit distracted.

SI.com: With Return of Key Players This Season, Wisconsin Already Looks to Be in Midseason Form

After a one-year hiatus, Wisconsin looks like an NCAA Tournament team again.

The Badgers saw their 19-year streak of March Madness appearances snapped by an injury-marred 2017-18 season. With its two starting guards banged up, Wisconsin stumbled to a losing record. Point guard D'Mitrik Trice missed the final 23 games of the year with an injured foot, forcing true freshman Brad Davison--a natural shooting guard--to take over at point, where he played nearly the entire season with a hurt shoulder that required offseason surgery.

Trice and Davison are back at full strength this season. That's bad news for the Big Ten because it means Ethan Happ is no longer alone.

SI.com: College Basketball Daily Best Bets: Wisconsin Can Pull Off Big Road Win at Xavier

Tuesday's slate is not too much to look at, especially with giant point spreads in both top-25 games, but there are a couple good games that provide decent value and are certainly worth wagering on.

Recap of Monday's bets:

1. Southern Illinois's veteran presence was able to control the pace, slowing down Buffalo and stretching out their own possessions the full 30 seconds consistently. While this worked against an ice-cold Buffalo team in the first half, passing up decent looks on offense combined with Buffalo connecting from deep led to the wheels falling off for SIU.

SI.com: College Basketball Daily Best Bets: Fade Buffalo Off Major Upset Win

Though many teams are still trying to find their identity, things are certainly becoming clearer with every team playing at least a game. Monday's slate has a few intriguing matchups between some of the top teams in the country as well as some mid-majors trying to prove they belong in the mix.

Cornell -2.5 against Colgate. Cornell blew the doors off SUNY Canton (which is a JUCO mind you) and looked comfortable against Binghamton too. Matt Morgan is a legit NBA prospect who can take Cornell to the top of the Ivy League if he plays as well as he's shown he is capable of

SI.com: Power Rankings: Duke Leads the Way After a Compelling Opening Week

Welcome to our 2018-19 college basketball power rankings! The highlights of a busy opening week started with the Champions Classic and ended with Vanderbilt edging USC in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Now that every team has at least one game under its belt, we can better assess where everyone falls at this early point of the season.

Our Week 1 power rankings are below, but first, some notable performances--for better or for worse--from the top 25...

NCAAB Matchup Insights sorted by time

If Arizona State can get past Miss St they should be able to win this tournament....the winner of this game will go on to play the winner of Saint Mary's-Utah State. Both of these teams played Long Beach to get here and ASU beat Long Beach by 32 points and Miss St beat Long Beach by 28 points. IMO Arizona State has the better offensive team, if they don't win it should certainly be a close game.

MAUI - Xavier opened Monday as a 10-point underdog against No. 8 Auburn, which moved up one spot in the latest AP poll, in the opening game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Xavier 17, Auburn 14, 7:55 first half - A steal by Paul Scruggs followed by a tough 3-pointer from Naji Marshall has Xavier on 5-0 run, followed by an Auburn turnover that sent the Xavier crowd through the roof.

Musketeers are finally playing complete basketball at both ends of the floor.

Xavier 10, Auburn 9, 12:00 first half - Naji Marshall gets going with his first 3-pointer and Xavier takes its second lead of the game on the Tigers.

I like Kansas State to cover the -7 today. The only team Mizzu has played this year was Ok State and they got drilled by the Cowboys...K. State is mean this year, also like the under 130 here with K'State's defense.

I have faded UTSA in their last couple of games and it paid off against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Im not saying UC-Irvine is on the same level as the Cowboys and the Sooners, but I see no reason to back the Roadrunners in their current form. They really only have two offensive scorers in Keaton Wallace and Nick Allen and I don't think that will be enough here against the a good defensive team like UC Irvine. This UC Irvine team beat Texas A&M already this year and I think they are heads and shoulders better than the Roadrunners....I'm laying the points.

Well folks, we've made it. We've made it to the Gameday of Auburn's first ever appearance in the Maui Invitational. While many Auburn fans dream of a possible matchup with Duke, they will have to get by Xavier first. Xavier was a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year but lost several key players and their head coach in the offseason. In order to learn more about Xavier, I talked with Bryan Dobney from Banners on the Parkway, the Xavier SB Nation site, for some insight on the Musketeers. My thanks to him for answering my questions.

Well folks, we've made it. We've made it to the Gameday of Auburn's first ever appearance in the Maui Invitational. While many Auburn fans dream of a possible matchup with Duke, they will have to get by Xavier first. Xavier was a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last year but lost several key players and their head coach in the offseason. In order to learn more about Xavier, I talked with Bryan Dobney from Banners on the Parkway, the Xavier SB Nation site, for some insight on the Musketeers. My thanks to him for answering my questions.

The Auburn Tigers have quietly been one of the more impressive teams to start the season with a deadly offense and a defense that's improved from a year ago. The Xavier Musketeers have been shaky at best with close wins over lesser competition and didn't look good in their only real test against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Auburn Tigers are for real this year and I predict Auburn runs away with this game.

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